House of Roy was a Cantonese Chinese restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1970s, a favorite of MIT students and others. Rick and his MIT cohorts, particularly from MIT’s MacGregor House B-entry (Marc Blank, Joel Berez, Mike Dornbrook, Mike Riley, and others) visited the House of Roy weekly starting in 1972. There were two primary…
Month: February 2011
Les Halles
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Ah, we miss Les Halles (also known as Brasserie Les Halles, pronounced as LAY ALL). This modern and fun French restaurant at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC was a favorite of many, not just us. This location closed around November 2008 after 15 years. Two Les Halles locations remain, both in New York…
Bertucci’s in Old Town Alexandria
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We enjoy eating at Bertucci’s wherever they are located. The food is always fresh and tasty. But we find ourselves often heading to the Bertucci’s in Old Town Alexandria at 725 King Street because they’re close and we can eat outside with our dogs, and they’re very friendly and accommodating (like eating outside after the…
Hard Times Café
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A perennial favorite of the ginHill crowd is the original Hard Times Café at 1404 King Street in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. We enjoy the Santa Fe egg rolls as an appetizer. Rick always goes for the five-way Texas chili (and adds lots of Tabasco sauce). Howard likes the 2-way veggie Mac along with cole slaw…
Thai Pilin
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The Thai Pilin restaurant is a lunch-time favorite of Rick’s It’s located on Route 7 in the Tysons Corner area, or, more precisely, at 8385 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia 22182. My favorite is Pad Thai Pak (vegetable Pad Thai, with rice noodles, but I also enjoy their many curry dishes and other specials. I’m still exploring their…
Dirty Martini
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Ingredients (per glass) 2 jiggers (around 3 oz. or 100 ml) vodka, unflavored (if possible, use vodka that’s been stored in a freezer, otherwise, wing it) 1 oz. dry vermouth ½ oz. olive brine juice (what’s in a store-bought olives jar other than the olives!) 1-3 green olives from store-bought jar Preparation To shaker, add vodka,…
Blue Drinks
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Ingredients 1 12 oz. can of frozen margarita mix (Bacardi brand or similar), slightly thawed so the can can be squeezed Blue Curaçao liqueur Tequila (Herradura or other brand) Ice Preparation To blender pitcher, add partially frozen margarita mix from can To now empty mix can, fill ⅓ with Blue Curacao and add to blender…
Kir Royal
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Ingredients 2 oz. chilled crème de cassis (blackcurrant-flavored liqueur) chilled Champagne of your choice, preferably dry (optional) fresh raspberries Preparation Select fluted Champagne glasses (preferably chilled) Add crème de cassis to flute Add 1-2 raspberries to each flute Fill to the rim with Champagne, mixing by very slowly turning flute
Green Rice Casserole
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Ingredients 1 medium onion, chopped 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 package (small box) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed 1 cup milk 1 can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup 1 cup cooked rice 1½-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese Preparation Sauté onion in butter/margarine Mix all ingredients into casserole dish Base at 350ºF for around 30 minutes…
Spanish Rice
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Ingredients 1 lb. ground beef ½ cup chopped onion ⅓ cup chopped green pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 1 can tomato soup 1 cup water ½ cup rice ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce Preparation In skillet, cook beef, onions, green peppers, and garlic until meat is browned and vegetables are…
Rum Cake
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Glaze Ingredients 1 stick butter or margarine ¼ cup water 1 cup sugar ½ cup rum Preparation Combine all ingredients in heavy sauce pan Boil for 5 minutes With spoon, put glaze on cake slowly, allowing some of the glaze to soak in Cake Ingredients 1 box yellow cake mix 1 small box instant vanilla…
Ranch Hand Round Up
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Ingredients 2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained 1 15 oz. can white and yellow corn 1 4 0z. can sliced black olives 1 4 oz. can diced green chilies ¼ cup chopped green olives ¼ cup chopped red onions ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro ½ cup vinaigrette salad dressing Preparation Combine all ingredients Chill overnight
Grilled Swordfish with Couscous
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I’ve always said that if swordfish is on the menu at a restaurant, I’ll order it! Swordfish has been a top-notch favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. There were some years in the 1970s or thereabouts when swordfish wasn’t readily available due to mercury poisoning. Thankfully, it’s readily available now, and…
Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce
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This is the spaghetti sauce my mother made in my youth. We didn’t buy bottles of already made pasta sauce… was there a market for them then? Ingredients 1¼ lb. ground beef ½ large onion, chopped oregano chili powder 6 cloves garlic large can (29 oz.) Hunt’s tomato sauce regular can of tomato soup Preparation…
Serbian Beef
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Ingredients 1 lb. beef (top/bottom, round), cubed 1 onion, chopped 2 cups, rice 4 cups, water or beef broth 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons parsley 3 tomatoes (or 1 can tomatoes for cooking) 1 small can mushrooms ½ teaspoon each salt, curry, garlic, pepper Tabasco sauce to taste Preparation Put 2 tablespoons oil…
Pumpkin Surprise
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Crust Ingredients 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs ½ cup melted butter ¼ cup sugar Preparation Mix ingredients. Press firmly in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 8-10 minutes at 375ºF. Cool. Filling Omit spices if using pie filling. Ingredients 1 medium can (2 cups) pumpkin 1 lb marshmallows 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp ground…
Orange and Red Onion Salad with Spiced Vinaigrette
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Vinaigrette Ingredients 4 tablespoons cider vinegar 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon sugar ¾ teaspoon chili powder ½ teaspoon salt or to taste ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro freshly ground pepper to taste Preparation In a small bowl, whisk all vinaigrette ingredients Salad Ingredients vinaigrette per the above 3 navel oranges, peeled and with the white part removed…
Pickled Okra-Ham Rolls
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Ingredients 1 16 oz jar pickled okra 1 oz container whipped cream cheese with chives ½ lb thinly sliced Virginia ham Preparation Drain pickled okra and pat dry with paper towel Spread thinly about 3 tablespoons of cream cheese on one slice of ham. Trim ends of okra and place 2 end to end on ham…
Mixed Salad with Salmon
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Vinaigrette Ingredients ½ to tablespoons good wine vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice. ⅛ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 6 tablespoons of olive oil ground pepper to taste Preparation Emulsify all ingredients except capers with a whisk Add capers Salmon Ingredients 1 lb fresh salmon filet, preferably wild Preparation Either grill or broil…
Pesto
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Ingredients 2 cups basil leaves—about 2 bunches 6-8 garlic cloves 8 tablespoons pine nuts 1½ teaspoon salt 14 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese 14 tablespoons olive oil juice of one lemon ground pepper Preparation Wash basil leaves and then dry them. Place basil leaves, garlic cloves, pine nuts, salt, and parmesan cheese in blender or food…